A nationwide monitoring effort is planned regarding the presence of so-called forever chemicals, which scientists say Americans have been exposed to widely.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5) to create nationwide monitoring for 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium in drinking water. This decision addresses the public health and environmental risks of PFAS in drinking water and is a significant milestone in EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap.
“At EPA, we are advancing the science and the monitoring that are necessary to protect all communities from PFAS,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in an EPA release. “With the data provided by this rule, EPA will be able to develop better regulations while the agency, states, and our local partners will be able to make protective public health decisions that are grounded in science.”
Every five years the EPA uses the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule to monitor for priority unregulated contaminants in drinking water, according to an EPA release. UCMR 5 collects data on 29 PFAS to improve the EPA’s understanding of the frequency and impact of the chemicals that exist in the nation’s drinking water systems. Also, expanded monitoring in UCMR 5 will improve EPA’s ability to conduct state and regional assessments of contamination and its impact on disadvantaged communities.
The additional data collected can be used as information for developing and funding remediation methods.
According to the CDC, PFAS chemicals cannot naturally break down. They are found in soils and water sources and will build up in fish and other wildlife. Although the chemicals' impact on human health needs further study, initial reports indicate that they "may affect reproduction, thyroid function, the immune system, and injure the liver."
Furthermore, CDC scientists found four PFAS (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS or perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, and PFNA or perfluorononanoic acid) in the serum of nearly all of the people tested. This, according to the report, indicates widespread exposure to these PFAS in the U.S. population.
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended to include America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. It requires all drinking water systems serving between 3,300 and 10,000 people to participate in UCMR. SDWA also specifies that a representative sample of systems serving fewer than 3,300 people participate, subject to the availability of appropriations and sufficient laboratory capacity. With proper funding, the UCMR 5 will significantly expand the number of small drinking water systems participating in the program, according to the release. This should provide more Americans with a better understanding of potential contaminants in their drinking water. The rule requires participating drinking water systems to collect samples from 2023-2025 and report final results through 2026.
Those results will be discussed during multiple webinar meetings for stakeholders in 2022. Dates and times of the meeting will be posted on the EPA website.
